The Little Mermaid
by Emma's Angel
Summary: A research scientist discovers the truth behind the woman who saved his life years ago. Story stalled. In rewrite phase.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: WOW a new story form _moi!_ LOL Anyway first the business end:  
Disclaimer: I own no part of the characters used in this story. They belong to their creators at Fox and Mutant Enemy.

Now for the fun!

The Little Mermaid

By: Emma's Angel

Prologue

The golden sun reflected off the glassy blue of the water as a small craft glided across its surface. The small wooden boat carried two passengers; one was a gentleman in the middle of his life. Beside the gentleman sat his young son David, pole in hand. They each had brown eyes and light colored hair.

And each loved to fish. There was nothing David loved more than to be with his father catching the fish that lived near their North Carolina home. He was pretty sure he would follow his father's footsteps and become a marine biologist. The sea was a second home to young David.

Every night, before bed, David would look out the window of his room and watch the diamonds dancing beneath the moonlight as it reflected off the cornflower blue water. Soon, David would be going to high school and his days sitting lazily on the beach watching the sun set the water afire would end.

Right now, David was going to forget about the coming week and focus on one last fishing trip with Dad. David tossed his line out into the water, and turned the reel.

"That's it, son", smiled his father. "Nice and easy." David continued to follow his father's instructions and enjoyed the conversation that followed.

Suddenly, David's line was pulled taut. David pulled back and began to real in the catch, but the line thrashed violently in the water, causing the water to bubble and wave.

"Dad, help!" he called. David's father laid down his pole and reached for his son's.

"Hold on tight, son!" he replied, grabbing David's pole.

The pole continued to move in every direction, as if it had a life of its own. Then the line tugged again, causing David and his father to lunge forward. David and his father were dragged along the bottom of the boat. David's father managed to get his feet propped against the sides of the boat and used his legs to keep from going over.

The line continued to shake furiously. Then, without warning, David's father lost his grip and his son and the pole went flying.

"David!" exclaimed his father, as his son hit the water with a loud splash.

David felt the waters part as he fell. Then he could feel the coolness of the water as it swallowed him whole. Suddenly, David found it hard to breathe. The pressure of the water being forced down his throat, made it hard. Instinctively, David began to swing his arms around in an effort to swim to the surface. But instead of going up, he felt he was sinking, further and further from his father's face frantically looking in the water for his son.

David continued to struggle before looking down at his legs. That's when he saw that the fishing line was wrapped around his legs, thus making it hard for him to swim up. He tugged and tugged, but they wouldn't budge. Remembering the pocket knife he kept in his pocket, David slipped it out of his jeans.

All of a sudden, a large pocket of air erupted from David, and he could no longer concentrate on escape. Panic set in and David tried frantically to swim up. Slowly, David saw that he was not getting anywhere as blackness began to surround his vision. Soon, David's eyes closed and he could feel himself becoming weightless.

The last thing he remembered, David thought he had hit the ocean bottom.

When David awoke, he could see the sunlight streaming on his face, warming it. Blinking his eyes, David looked around. He saw that he was lying on a beach. After he coughed harshly, David tried to sit up. That's when he felt two hands push him back down. Looking to his left, David saw a pair of sea green eyes stare back at him, begging him not to move. The face he saw made him doubt his sanity.

She was beautiful, with skin the color of the beach. Her hair was probably blond, but the way the sun reflected off of it with such brilliance, he couldn't be sure. A thin, but strong looking finger lay cross her mouth, a shushing sound escaping.

"Lie still," she said. "Help is coming."

"Who are you?" David asked, coughing as more water escaped from his lungs.

"A friend," she said simply, and smiled. She was the most beautiful thing David had ever seen. Carefully, David reached up with one hand and cupped the cheek of the yellow haired goddess in front of him.

She didn't flinch at his touch, but did look worried.

"I have to go, now." And with that, the blond woman disappeared from David's sight. As he sat up, David heard two voices yelling in his direction. One belonged to his father. The other, belonged to his sister Kathy.

"Son, are you alright?" asked his father as they helped David to his feet.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, looking around for the mysterious blond.

"We were so worried about you!" cried Kathy, placing an arm around David's waist. "If it wasn't for that phone call from your cell, we might never have found you!"  
"My cell?" David did not recall having his cell phone with him when he went with his dad. But when he reached in his back pocket, sure enough, his silver Razor with a green lightening blot sticker was there.

"Huh," he said making himself cough up more water from his lungs. "I didn't realize I brought it."

"By the way, where is that woman I saw sitting beside you as we came up?" David's father inquired.

David wondered that himself, and stopped walking to search for the beautiful woman who had saved him. He scanned the beach, but he saw no signs of where she had gone. The sun continued to glare off the surface of the water, blinding him in some spots.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw her. She was about ten feet from the shore, perched on a rock. Why on a rock? And why was she in the water? His questions were answered when she turned and dove beneath the waves. David blinked his eyes when he saw the sun reflected aquamarine color as he saw a tail slap the waves and disappear.

"Are you okay?" asked his sister.

"I certainly hope so," David responded as he turned and walked back to the house with his father and sister in tow.

End Prologue

Ok so give me your honest opinion; should i keep going, or give up? As always the more reviews i get, the harder I try to bring you guys the good stuff! READ & REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One:

Angel Angelito took a breath as he raised his hand to knock on his idol's door. Years of hard work and schooling were about to pay off. As soon as he walked through the other side of the frosted glass door; Angel would be the intern of Dr. Rupert Giles, the most renowned Mythologist in the country.

Dr. Giles' knowledge was so concise; many wondered how he could be so concrete in his findings.

Angel knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Enter," answered a British sounding voice. Angel took a breath and opened the door.

Stepping inside, he found a middle aged man wearing a tweed suit and wire framed glasses, searching through the stacks of papers that littered his desk.

"Now where did I put that file?" Dr. Giles said absently as Angel approached his desk.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Dr. Giles looked up from his search and examined his new employee.

"Ah yes," said the Dr. as he straightened his glasses. "You must be David."

Angel smiled. "I haven't been called David since I was sixteen," he responded. "Please just call me Angel."  
"Angel," replied Dr. Giles. "Interesting choice. It's Greek."  
"Uh, Yes sir." Noted Angel. "It's means 'Messenger'."

"And do you have any messages for me, Angel?" Giles peered over his glasses as he continued to talk to the young man. Angel was taken aback. He was about to attempt a response when he saw Dr. Giles break into a smile.

"You are a very serious individual Davi- I mean, Angel."

"I was just not expecting you to be so relaxed," explained Angel. "I thought this was an interview."  
"It is," stated Dr. Giles. "but I would not have asked you to come here unless you already had the position."  
"Really!" Angel's eyes lit up. "I –I don't know what – Thank you, Dr. Giles."  
"Oh, please don't be so formal," said the scientist as he shook his shoulders uncomfortably. "Call me Giles from now on."

"Ok, Giles." Giles found the file he was looking for and picked it up before walking around to the front of the desk. Placing an arm on Angel's shoulder Giles spoke once more.

"So, Angel, tell me. How did you become interested in Mythology?"  
"I thought that was all in my resume'?" asked Angel, as he followed his new boss out of the office.  
"It is," answered his idol. "But I prefer to hear it from you."  
"Well, my interest was stemmed by a boating accident with my dad the year before he died."  
"My condolences," offered Giles.

"Thank you," Angel continued. "Anyway, I was pulled overboard by what I thought was a large fish. I became tangled in the line and blacked out. When I awoke my family was coming and a young girl was sitting beside me."

Giles slid his pass card through the slot and opened the door to a very sterile, very white room.

"Please," Giles said leading Angel through. "Continue."

"There's not really much else. The woman, or girl, disappeared and when I saw her last I swear I saw a tail."  
"As in a fish's tail?" inquired Giles. Angel nodded.  
"Yeah, scales and everything."  
"Mmmm," muttered Giles as they stopped before an electronically sealed room.

Angel tried to peer through the narrow window, but all he saw were large, green leaves that led to even larger tree trunks. Large shapes rustled through the foliage, but no specific shapes could be determined. Looking back at his future mentor, he saw that Giles was still talking to him.

"Now, before we go any further, I need to make sure that you understand: What you see beyond this point is to be kept behind these doors." Giles looked Angel in the eye. "Understand?"  
"Perfectly." Angel hoped he sounded secure. He was, but the way Giles was being so dramatic about it, made Angel almost afraid of what he might be getting himself into. Giles stood up straight and entered the code into the numeric keypad.

A beep sounded and the small red dot above the keypad turned green. With a _whoosh_ the door opened and Giles led Angel inside.

To say Angel was astonished was an understatement. All around him, the trees he had seen in the small window expanded around him, making him feel he had stepped back in time several million years. Ok, so that description might be overstepping it, but the forest consumed and awed you all at the same time.

The only thing keeping Angel's feet grounded were the waist high, dullish grey barriers that separated the paddocks. Angel watched Giles walk over to one of the habitats.

"Xander!" called Giles. "I have someone I want you to meet."

Angel waited patiently for the Xander Giles was calling to, to make his presence known. A moment later, Angel could hear the sound of horses' hooves approaching and at fast speeds. Within seconds, Angel watched a brown and black blur come racing towards him.

The shape stopped suddenly before Giles and Angel, but misjudged the distance between him and the wall, and collided. Then, the shape stood, shook the dirt from its body and addressed Giles.

"Oh wow! I wasn't expecting that! You wanted to see me, boss?"

Angel just stood in wide-eyed amazement. Standing before him, was a horse with a brown body and black socks on its legs. But the most amazing part was the fact that from roughly chest up, the horse had a human body. The apparently male human had, black hair and matching eyes. He was well built, but obviously ocassionaly clumsy. A real, live Centaur. Angel couldn't believe his eyes.

"Still haven't gotten used to the leg?" asked Giles. Angel looked to the Centaur.

"Kinda, Ever since that sniper tried to off me, I haven't been able to run right. Thanks to you, I'm starting to get around again. But I haven't been able to run at full speed for so long, I guess I forgot just how fast I could go." Xander looked over to Angel. "Who's he?"  
"Ah, yes." Giles remembered his reason for being there and cleared his throat. "Xander, I would like you to meet my new assistant; David Angelito."  
"Uh, actually it's Angel," he corrected as Xander held out a hand to him.  
"Oh, hey Angel," Xander said, stepping closer as he waited for Angel to take his hand.

"Uh, Hi. Xander." Angel said taking Xander's hand in a firm hand shake.

"Nice to finally meet you. It's about time G-Man got himself a new assistant." Angel saw the uneasy look cross Giles' face.

"Please don't ever call me that," Giles warned. Then he turned his attentions back to Angel. "Well, we have others I need to introduce Angel to." He nodded at Xander. Xander nodded back. "Yeah, ok."

Giles placed a hand on Angel's shoulder, pressing him onward.

"Oh hey! Giles!" Xander called back after a moment. Giles and Angel stopped and turned towards Xander.

"I almost forgot! Buffy's at the lagoon; she told Will she's feeling a little under the weather." Giles seemed to have a concerned look on his face.

"That's odd," he said more to himself that anyone else. Then louder said; "Thank you, Xander. I will inquire about it later."

With that, Xander reared up and galloped out of sight.

Angel looked over at Giles who was examining him.

"You alright?"  
"Yeah," replied Angel. "Just a tad stunned, that's all. I thought that myths were-"  
"Myths?" finished Giles. Angel didn't say a thing. Giles grinned.

"My boy, as with all fairy tales, they have basis in fact. Some…just more than others." Giles waited for his words to sink in, before continuing.

"You can stop now if you wish. You can turn around and walk out the door, never to return. But you can't breathe a word of this compound to anyone."  
"Who would believe me?" Angel blurted. After another moment of awkward silence, Angel looked at Giles.

"Show me more." Giles smiled and began to walk down the path again. A few minutes later, they stopped before another fence.

"Who's Buffy?" asked Angel as Giles pulled a whistle from his tweed jacket pocket.

"No one of consequence," Giles told Angel in a tone that put an end to any more questions that Angel might have had. Turning his attention to the whistle, Giles placed his lips to the silver opening, before pausing as another animal approached.

"Ah!" said Giles to the dog like creature as he placed the whistle back in his pocket. "I was just about to call you." Angel raised an eyebrow as he watched Giles talk to a dog.

Then, the dog stood on is hind legs, before appearing in the shape of a man. Angel shook his head as what was a large, muscular wolf became a skinny, slightly red-headed human male. Stepping behind a bush to cover "certain areas", the male stepped back into view wearing a pair of boxers.

"I hate that whistle," said the man, looking at Angel. "You must be David."  
"Uh, yeah," answered Angel, surprised he knew who he was. "But most people call me Angel now. How did you know who I was?"

"Willow." Answered the man. "She said Giles was expecting a new assistant named David to arrive any day now." The man held out his hand. "By the way; name's Oz."

"Oz," Angel shook Oz's hand as he said his name, committing it to memory.

"So you're a-?"  
"Werewolf, yeah." Stated Oz, nodding. "Been this way about three years now. Giles took me in when he found me scavenging for food about a mile from here.

"So, he knew who you where when you were a wolf?" Angel said pointing at Giles.

"That's what I am going to teach you while you are here, Angel," Giles commented.

"Mythology is more than just studying stories like "Cinderella" or the "Gorgon". It's also about being able to spot the 'para' from the 'normal'."

Angel processed what Giles had told him. Granted, what had turned into a quest to find out the truth behind the "mermaid" he had seen as a young man, had turned into an obsession with all things considered legendary. But Angel wasn't sure he could fully comprehend that fact that these "fairy tales" were real, let alone carry on normal conversations!

Giles' next question brought Angel back to the present.  
"Have you seen Willow?" Giles looked to Oz. " Xander said something about Buffy not feeling well, as of late."  
"Last I saw her she was getting a drink down by the lagoon. She's wants to stay close in case something happens."  
"So Buffy's still at the lagoon?" Angel asked, surprising himself as well as Giles and Oz.

This Buffy person, whoever, correction: _what_ever she may be, had his interests thoroughly peaked. Angel was determined not to leave the compound until he had seen Buffy and what creature she truly was.

"Yeah." Oz answered Angel's question. "Or she was when I was there about twenty minutes ago."  
"Thanks, Oz," Said Giles, smiling assuring. Oz nodded and walked over to a tree and moment later ran off into the woods, in full Wolf mode.

When they finally reached the lagoon, Angel was awestruck by it's appearance. The lagoon lay at the bottom of a large waterfall, its white spray creating a misty fog around its banks. The sun shone through the trees, creating a rainbow in the upper mists. In the middle of the lagoon sat a large, rock island. Off to the right, stood a beautiful white unicorn, lapping the cool water from the edge. Its horn looked like pure gold, and its mane and tail were a multitude of colors.

As Giles and Angel stepped forward from the path they were on, the unicorn raised it's head and looked at Angel. He swallowed hard. Then the horse raised its magnificent head and whinnied loudly.

"Buffy?" asked Angel looking at the horse. The horse darted off into the brush as Giles stepped into the water. Angel looked back at his boss, looking for what he seeing. That's when he saw a shape sitting on the rock island. The shape turned its head and addressed Giles.

"Giles!" said the shape as she saw him standing in the water. Angel tried to maintain his breathing.

Giles motioned to the young girl.

"Buffy, I would like you to meet my new assistant, Angel. Angel, I would like for you to meet Buffy."

Angel had to check for a pulse. Sitting before him on the rock, was the mermaid who had saved him fifteen years earlier.

End Chapter One

So what did you think? Do you like who is what? What other characters might you like to see appear? I have a few in mind but have yet to commit, so tell me what you think! This story is very much WIP as I don't even have a clue what will happen from one chap to the next. As always reviews get more goodies! LOL New chapter coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys.

I hate to say this, but the story has stalled! One review I received made me realize too much had happened too fast! So I need to go over the first chapter again and rewrite! So don't worry I will update! It just probably won't happen till after the New Year. I might get it out before Christmas, I might not!  
Thanks for the reviews! And I will be back soon!

Sincerely,

Emma's Angel


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